We use cookies to ensure we give you the best experience on our website. You can find out about our cookies and how to disable cookies in our Privacy Policy. If you continue to use this website without disabling cookies, we will assume you are happy to receive them. Close.

Western European perceptions of post-second-world- war architecture in Czechoslovakia, and other central and eastern European countries under Communist control in this era, invariably invoke imagery of prefabricatedconcrete panel apartmentblocks (or paneláks, as they are colloquially known). Although such structures still dominate urbanlandscapes outside of historical town centres, for a brief period after the war a contrasting socialist realist, rather than functionalist, style predominated in new developments, until it fell out of political favour in the mid- 1950s. In essence, socialist realism sought to harness neoclassical and vernaculararchitecturalforms to represent a ‘socially optimistic’ future, a philosophy translated in nuanced ways from its Soviet origins into different national contexts.

The design of the post-war Czechoslovak new town of Nová Dubnica was overseen by the architect Jirí Kroha, a primary exponent of socialist realism in that country.[1] Kroha’s career successively embraced cubism, expressionism and then modernism, before his emergence as a leading advocate for ‘socialist’ architecture in the mid-1940s. Although Nová Dubnica was his first new town commission, he was well positioned to oversee the project, having been active in the Communist Party between the wars, and close to several government ministers. Indeed, his standing was such that he was recognised as the only living ‘national artist’ by the state in 1948.

War damage in Czechoslovakia was less severe than in neighbouring countries like Poland, with no cities devastated in the manner of Warsaw and Gdansk. However, acute shortages, coupled with the expansion of nationalised industries, generated significant demand for housing in several regions. Agricultural land was therefore set aside between Trenianske Teplá and Dubnica nad Váhom, in present-day north-western Slovakia, to build the ‘new socialist town’ of Nová Dubnica. The initial target population of 15–20,000 rose within early iterations of the master plan to accommodate some 25,000 inhabitants. Much of the proposed housing was intended for an influx of workers and their families, attracted by the construction of a new locomotive plant nearby.

Nová Dubnica was not completed as originally conceived, and later expansions in the 1960s and 70s followed neither the planform nor architectural style established the previous decade. Forced from the project and his other positions in 1956, Kroha’s involvement was also short-lived. In part this stemmed from the antipathy of the Khrushchev regime in the Soviet Union towards socialist realism, hastening the adoption of panelák technology for mass housingconstruction. Indeed, reappraisal of (the former) Czechoslovakia’s socialist realist architecture took place seriously only after the end of the Cold War, exemplified by an exhibition on Kroha held at the Architecture Centre Vienna in 1998. Revisionist attitudes towards the legacy of this period nonetheless remain tempered by memories of the brutal political environment under which it was created.

The 50th anniversary of Nová Dubnica’s creation was celebrated in the town in 2006. An architectural exhibition, seminar programme, souvenir publication and commemorative calendar were some of the activities and materials that helped mark the occasion. However, the legacy of socialist realist architecture in the country is largely underappreciated, and this is arguably reflected in the lack of conservation protection currently afforded to post-second-world-war architecture.

Finally, a shared historical influence with post-war new towns in the UK concerns the utopian ideals of the 19th-century Welsh social reformist Robert Owen, who is best known for the development of New Lanark in Scotland. He provided inspiration for the modelvillages, garden cities movement and later new townsprogramme. Kroha’s work at Nová Dubnica was also informed by Owen’s thinking and by the French philosopher Charles Fourier, thus representing the simultaneous outworking of early socialist ideas in town planning on both sides of the Iron Curtain in the mid-20th century.

IHBC NewsBlog

How the current pandemic will shape historic urban areas and their surrounding communities across the globe is impossible to tell. Join us to reflect on the implications for our current approaches to caring for valued places, and even speculate on future strategies and responses.

Spring is a good time to stand back and consider any building repairs that are required over the next 12 months, notes the LPOC, and regular inspection and maintenance is the key to keeping homes in good repair, as per its accessible step-by-step guidance.

The regular newsletter showcases the IHBC’s own Continuing Professional Development (CPD) content as well as online opportunities from ‘IHBC Recognised CPD Providers’ and other conservation related training and events.